Lock



April 28, 1959 E. C. WQLNIAK LOCK Filed Aug. 27, 1956 Jaz vtumblersprings and spacers. 'serted into the lockhousing and suitable meansmust United States Fateniu LOCK Stanley C. Wolniak, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to The Illinois k Company, a corporation of IllinoisApplication August 27, 1956, Serial No. 606,489

3 Claims. (Cl. 711-367) This invention is concerned with a lock and moreparticularly with a novel arrangement for retaining the plug assembly ofa lock in a housing.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a lock plug andhousing assembly which is cheaper to manufacture and easier to assemblethan those which have been used in the past.

One feature of the invention is the provision of a retaining elementmovably mounted on a lock plug with a leaf spring biasing the retainingelement into engagement with the housing. Another feature is theprovision of complementary surfaces on the spring and plug forpositioning the leaf spring thereon; and a further feature is that thecomplementary surfaces include an ear on one member and means defining arecess on the other.

Another feature is that the plug may be formed so that the retainingmeans will operate in various directions although cast with a standarddouble side core action die. Yet another feature is that the back end ofthe key slot and spring positioning recess are formed with these sameside cores in the plug and extend in parallel directions regardless ofthe direction of movement of the movable retaining member.

And a further feature is that the plug shape, due to the arcuate shapeof the leaf spring and the corresponding shape of the plug, providessubstantial strength in the sections connecting the plug structures oneither side of the retaining member channel.

Further features and advantages will readily be apparent from thefollowing specification and from the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cut-away perspective view of a lock plug assembled in ahousing;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an exploded view of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the plug;

Figure 5 is a side view of the spring member;

Figure 6 is a layout drawing illustrating the dies used in coring thelock plug; and

Figure 7 is similar to Figure 6 showing a different arrangement for theretaining member guide surfaces.

In the manufacture of key locks, the plug member is normally assembledfrom a cast blank, suitable tumblers,

The assembly is then inbe provided for retaining it securely therein.

Referring now to Figure 1, a plug assembly P having a body 10, a keyslot 11 and tumblers 12 is shown mounted in a housing 13. A retainingmember 14 is spring urged, as will appear more fully later, into acomplementary recess or groove 13a of the housing, holding plug Psecurely therein. Upon insertion of an appropriate key, the ends oftumblers l2 are retracted into the plug body permitting plug P to turn.An cecentric boss 15 extends from the rear face of the plug body 10 andmay be utilized to operate a desired mechanism (not shown).

Referring now more particularly to Figures 2 4, it will be seen that theplug body 10 has a channel 2Q formed therein adjacent the .'ear portionof the body and extending well over half way around the body. Receivedwithin the channel 20 is a horseshoe or U-shaped retaining member 14provided with end portions 2l. joined by an arcuate portion 22. The endportions 2i slidably engage generally parallel guide surfaces 23 formedin the plug body at the bottom of channel 20 and permit movement of theretaining member in a desired direction into and out of the channel. Aleaf spring 24 of generally arcuate or U-shaped configuration, isinterposed between the retaining member and the plug body 10, withinchannel 20, urging the retaining member away from the plug body. Theretaining member guide surfaces 23 are provided With shoulders 25,extending generally at right angles thereto, which are engaged by lipportions 26 on the inner surfaces of end portions 21 of the retainingmember, limiting the outward movement of the retaining member. Theassembled plug unit P may be inserted into the lock housing 13 bydepressing retainer member 2li and inserting the plug unit into thehousing. When the plug P is fully inserted, the retaining member snapsinto groove 13a locking the parts together.

Arcuate leaf spring 24 is provided with an ear or tab 27 projectingoutwardly from the side of the spring adjacent one end thereof. This earis received in a recess 28 formed in one of the Walls defining channel20. Preferably the recess is formed in the rear wall 29 to avoidweakening the plug structure adjacent the tumbler receiving openings 30,which are formed in the plug forwardly of recess 20.

The ear 27 on the leaf spring and the recess 28 cooperate to simplifythe assembly of the spring retaining element and the plug body. Thespring is placed in channel 20 with the ear or tab portion 27 extendinginto recess 28, and the ends of the spring rest on the rounded surfaceof the plug body as shown in Figure 2. The interlocking action of theear 27 and recess 23 keep the spring in the desired position even thoughthe plug body may be subjected to a certain amount of movement beforethe retaining member 14 is placed thereon. The retainer member may beassembled by placing it over the spring so that the end portions 2l. arespread apart until lips 26 snap into place engaging shoulders 25.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1-4, the retainingmember 14 moves in generally the same direction as the direction ofmovement of tumblers 12 and accordingly the guide surfaces 23 aregenerally parallel with the key slot 1li and the openings provided inplug blank for the tumblers. In addition, the recess 28 is formed withits sides 28a extending generally in the same direction, parallel to-theguide surfaces 23, key slot 11 and tumblers 12. With this arrangement,the dies for the plug blank are designed as shown in Figure 6 with theparting line being indicated at 31.

In many instances, however, the design of the particular lockinstallation requires that the retaining member move in a differentdirection. The plug blank of the present invention is particularly welladapted to permit such modification as shown in Figure 7 wherein theretaining member guide surfaces 23 extend generally at right angles tothe key slot ll. Here the recess 28 is turned through also, so that itmay be cored by a projection on one die member while the key slot l1 iscored by a projection on the other die member. The parting line for thedies is indicated at 31.

In both forms of the plug, i.e. with retainer movement in the samedirection as tumbler movement or at an angle thereto, the connectingportion of the plug blank between the portions on either side of recess20 has a aast-inea substantial cross sectional area. This strengthensthe plug blank and reduces the possibility of breakage in use.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, itis to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changestherefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a lock of the character described, comprising a plug having atransverse peripheral channel formed therein provided with an arcuatebottom wall portion, a housing having an opening receiving said plug,and a retaining element mounted in said plug to be projected therefrom,an arcuate leaf spring having its legs substantially spaced and slidablyengaging said bottom wall portion and biasing said retaining elementoutwardly to project into a complementary recess in said housing, saidleaf spring and a side wall of the channel in the plug 20 walls definingthe boundary of said channel proximate said end having a recess and aportion of the bottom wall thereof extending parallel to the axis of theplug, a housing having an opening receiving said plug, and a retainingelement movably mounted in said channel, a leaf spring biasing saidretaining element into a complementary recess in said housing, saidspring having an ear thereon which extends into the recess in the wallof said channel, positioning the spring on said plug and spaced portionshaving contact with said bottom wall portion of the groove substantiallyalong lines extending parallel to the axis of the plug.

3. The lock of claim 2 wherein the retaining element is U-shaped andstraddles said bottom wall portion, and the spacing of said portions ofthe spring is in the order of the spacing of the legs of the retainingelement.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,621,174 Schlage Mar. t5, w27 2,019,534 Henst Nov. 5, 1935 FOREIGNPATENTS 301 Great Britain Jan. 4, 1902

